Proposition 65 Advisory

Proposition 65 Advisory 02-III

Attorney General Negotiates "Standstill" Agreements With MassFilers; CRB, Inc. Withdraws Air Emission Notices*

California Attorney General Bill Lockyer and his staff have negotiated "standstill" agreements with Citizens for Responsible Business, Inc. ("CRB, Inc."), Consumer Advocacy Group, Inc. ("CAG"), and Environmental World Watch ("EWW"), which collectively filed approximately 5000 Notices of Intent to Sue under Proposition 65 in December 2001 and January 2002. The three bounty-hunter plaintiff groups have agreed to refrain from filing any lawsuits under Proposition 65 for defined periods of time, during which they will work with the Attorney General to resolve issues concerning the sufficiency of their Notices.

The standstill agreements are virtually identical, except for the dates on which they were executed and the time periods they establish for the different filers. All three bounty-hunter groups have agreed to "engage in a constructive effort" with the Attorney General to resolve issues concerning the shortcomings of their Notices, and to refrain from filing civil actions while that process takes place. The agreement with CRB, Inc., executed on January 30, 2002, does not expire on its own accord, but is subject to termination by CRB, Inc. upon 30 days' notice. The Agreement with CAG and EWW, embodied in a single document executed on March 4, 2002, establishes a standstill period until April 30, 2002, and requires 30 days' notice for any lawsuit initiated after that date. Both agreements are available in full text on the McKenna & Cuneo website at http://www.mckennacuneo.com/practice/prop65/Prop65Letters2.html.

In a related development, CRB, Inc. agreed that approximately 1200 of its December 2001 Notices alleging "occupational" and "environmental" exposures as a result of airborne emissions were based on faulty information. CRB, Inc. accordingly agreed to withdraw all 1200 of these Notices. Letters withdrawing these Notices already have been sent to the recipients of the Notices. Any recipient of an air emissions notice that has not received a withdrawal letter should seek counsel, or call the Office of the Attorney General.

*Editor's Note: The press of business in the first few months of 2002 prevented us from issuing our monthly Advisories. This Advisory is the third in a series of three that update our readers on developments flowing from the December, 2001 deluge of notices discussed above.

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